Observations: The History of Organization XIII
by justplainrii
Summary: [on hiatus] A full and faithful history of Organization XIII, from Xehanort's youth, to its demise at the hands of the Keyblade master.  Be wary, the history you know is often not all is as it seems.  Revisionist fic.
1. Lies, Truths, and Questions

**Observations**  
The Chronicles of Organization XIII  
Of the Times Before, During, and Following the Coming of the Keyblade  
And of the Ultimate Fate of Those That Lack Hearts

--

**Prologue**

Lies, Truths, and Questions

_In Which the Story Somewhat Begins  
And Xemnas Visits the Shell of His Old Home_

--

_The self is of three parts: the body, the soul, and the heart._

_The soul serves to give life to the body and heart. Without it, the body is merely a lifeless corpse._

_When one dies, the soul leaves the body; does the heart leave also? Where do they go?_

_Does the soul return with the heart to Kingdom Hearts?_

_The heart can be taken from the body; does the soul go with it, also?_

_When the heart is outside the body, can it be returned, or is it inevitable that it falls to darkness?_

_What is the nature of a Nobody? Are they purely body, soul, or both?_

_How do they exist? Why?_

_Is it possible for a Nobody to gain a heart?_

Xemnas slammed down his pen and sighed in mild annoyance; musing always made his head hurt somewhat. He stared in mild dissatisfaction at the open book on his desk, filled with his own notes, mostly questions about things he was still struggling to understand. There were definately more questions than answers; a futile effort in that way, he felt.

The writing was a near-compulsive action; whenever he felt particularly hollow or annoyed, he would peruse his old research materials and add to his observations, an old habit from when he still had a heart. He could remember, when his Somebody was still quite young; studying intensely, late into the night, and writing complicated notes in a spindly scrawl whenever he felt stressful, and it confused him how such a small, repetitive act like that would stay intact, even in the absence of a heart. He exhaled and jotted down another note: _Do old behaviors of the Somebody transfer to the Nobody once the heart has been seperated?_

It was a perplexing dilemma, his own existence; not just his, but the existence of Nobodies on a whole. He still had no firm grasp on how Nobodies even existed, for, according to his prior research, they weren't really meant to exist in the first place. True, he and Vexen were coming close to figuring it out, but he felt fatalistically doomed to either never understand, or muddle the whole thing up (which he decided was a much worse fate.)

Why must matters of the heart and soul be so complicated? He glared at the pen, as if expecting an answer.

"Sir, if I may, are you available?"

For a moment, he foolishly thought that the pen in his hand had replied, but the deep drawl of the voice behind proved him wrong; the door to his study had opened and he turned around to see Saix standing there, his face free of expression, as usual.

"What is it now, Saix?" he said, a slight scowl on his face. "If you haven't noticed, I'm somewhat busy."

"My apologies, sir," Saix said, although his voice held no apologetic tones at all. Xemnas was silent for a while, fiddling with the pen in his gloved finger, until he realized that Saix hadn't said anything.

"Well? What were you going to say?" he said impatiently. "If you've come here to bother me, then follow through, at least."

"Yes, sir," Saix replied, "my apologies. Sir, it appears there has been...an incident."

"An incident?" Xemnas echoed, a tad interested.

"Yes, sir, there's a stir on the main level of the castle over it, and I was sent to get you," he replied.

"Well, what's going on?" Xemnas asked.

"It seems that Demyx has been spreading news about your Heartless, sir," Saix said. "I don't know much about it myself, but he is claiming that your Heartless has appeared in the former Radiant Garden and is making a mess of things."

"Really, now?" Xemnas said, now quite interested. "My Heartless?"

Saix nodded.

"Where did he get this information?" he asked.

"I am unaware of that, sir," Saix replied. Xemnas got out of his chair and placed the pen on his desk.

"Well, then, I suppose Demyx and I are going to have a little chat," he said, strolling out of his study. "As you were, Saix."

"Yes, sir," Saix replied, and once Xemnas had left, he returned to the streets of the World That Never Was, where he was gleefully destroying Heartless in a rare release of emotion.

Xemnas made his way onto the main level of the castle, and heard squabbling beyond as he walked down the corridor.

"Oh, I just _know _that the Superior is gonna get you in trouble for spreading lies, you fruity little loser!"

"I am _not_ lying!"

"I just hope Saix got to him so we can get this rediculous argument settled, I want some quiet around here, for once; your incessant screaming quite gets on my nerves."

"Shut your face, Vexen! You want quiet, go to your stupid little laboratory!"

"_Please_ be quiet, Larxene, enough is enough..."

Xemnas rounded the corner and saw a few of the Nobodies crowded around in the main hall of the castle. "What's going on, here?"  
Immediately there was silence.

"Ah, Superior," Vexen said smoothly. "I was waiting for you to come around."

"Demyx here's going around spreading lies," Larxene said poisonously.

"I told you, I am _not_!" Demyx protested.

"Nobody in their right mind would want to go around Hollow Bastion, there's nothing going on around there except that boring little witch, Maleficent and her silly little Heartless," she retorted. "Even if you are telling the truth, what in the worlds were you doing over there, anyways?"

"That's none of your business..." Demyx said bitterly, folding his arms. "Besides, why are you using that stupid name they came up with? It sounds so...disturbing!"

"Enough," Xemnas commanded. "Demyx, come with me; we'll speak in private."

"Understood, sir," Demyx replied, and walked to his side. The two of them strolled down the corridor and out of sight as Larxene shot one final insult at Vexen, who had had enough and was willing to burn some time in his lab.

"So, Demyx, what's this you're saying about my Heartless?" Xemnas finally asked, once they were a good distance away.

"Well, see...I was in Hollow Bastion, and-" he began, but Xemnas cut him off.

"Why are you calling it Hollow Bastion now? You sounded somewhat angry at Larxene for using that faux name," he said smoothly.

"Well...I dunno...spur-of-the-moment...maybe...?" he said nervously; being around the Superior always made him nervous, but he was alone this time, which added to the stress of the event. "Sir, if I might say, it doesn't make much of a difference..."

"True, regarding the matter..." Xemnas replied. "Back to what I originally was going to ask you, what were you doing there in the first place? And do _not_ begin going on about the names, that's not important." Demyx was silent for a while, little beads of sweat collecting on his forehead.

"Er...curiosity...sir?" he replied nervously. Xemnas stared back skeptically.

"You're lying to me, aren't you?" he said coldly, and Demyx glanced towards the ceiling and shook his head, then nodded. Xemnas sighed and kneaded his forehead in annoyance; Demyx was a powerful Nobody, that much was true, but he really had a weak spot for dealing with instruction and authority, and that alone was worse than having to deal with Axel when he was feeling antsy (which generally had things igniting at random and inconvenient times.)

"Go ahead, tell me what you were doing over there. The consequences will be little, if any...I don't give a mouse's ass what you were doing over there."

"Well, er, sir..." Demyx began, scratching the back of his head, "I had heard rumors from Xigbar (he has Heartless posted over _there_, you know) that there was some suspicious stuff goin' on over there, and the Keybearer was wandering about, to boot."

"The Keybearer, eh?" Xemnas said, mildly interested. "You went to investigate, did you?"

"Well...sorta," Demyx replied, smiling nervously. "I went to go see what was up so I could get some information. I'm not taken seriously, sometimes, Superior."

"Well, for good reason," Xemnas replied callously, and Demyx glanced at the ceiling in humility. "Well, what did you see?"

"Lots of Heartless!" Demyx replied, weakly smiling. Xemnas wasn't amused, so he chuckled weakly and continued. "Well, I saw someone in a brown cloak stalking around in there, and he was talking to this silver-haired kid somewhere in a hallway, so I hung around and listened."

"A kid? How old, do you suppose?" Xemnas asked, beginning to walk along. Demyx followed.

"How should I know, Superior? I'm not too good with those sorts of things," he replied honestly. "He had green eyes and he talked like he knew that Maleficent woman."

"Ahh, must be her little stooge...go on, what happened?" Xemnas said.

"They started talking about darkness and power and all sorts of stuff; it was pretty boring and shallow, but it sounded like trouble," Demyx replied. "Then he took off his hood for some reason and I thought he looked a lot like you, when I got a really bad feeling, so I got outta there. Judging from that, and that egomanical speech of his and manipulative nature...no offense, sir."

"None taken," Xemnas replied stoically.

"Well, I took from what I had heard from the others that he was your Heartless, and I started telling everyone. 'course, nobody believed me, and I thought I'd be able to get some good info on the Keybearer and finally get taken seriously..."

He trailed off, thinking he said too much.

"Is that all, Demyx?" Xemnas asked. Demyx nodded.

"Yes, sir, that's all I heard and saw, and why I was there."

"You are excused, then," Xemnas said. "Thank you for reporting this, I'll be on my way."

"I'm excused?" he said, a hint of relief in his voice.

"Yes, indeed," he replied. "Inform Marluxia, Saix, or Xigbar that I'll be gone a short while, I will return soon."

"Where are you going, if you don't mind me asking, sir?" Demyx asked, as Xemnas began to walk away.

"Hollow Bastion. I do believe that I must do a little investigation of my own."


	2. Sheltered by Earth

**Chapter One**

Sheltered by Earth

_In Which the Story Really Begins  
And Xehanort is Badly Burned_

--

"Run, you blasted idiot boy! Why in the world do I keep you around?"

The laboratory was on fire, and the researcher's young assistant, a lad of only about 14 or 15, was scared out of his wits.

"Where?" he screamed, oblivious as to where he was supposed to go.

"Out of the fire, you dolt!" his master shouted. "Just run in any direction!"

"But what about the books?" the boy said, his gaze darting between the numerous bookshelves full of research that were now in flames.

"Damn the books, boy! Run!" was the reply.

The boy nodded fearfully and began in a direction, but he noticed something and returned.

"But Mister Xehanort, aren't you coming with-" he began, but was slapped across the face.

"_Don't argue with me, boy!_" his master said. "Don't worry about me, just RUN!"

Hardly daring to argue, the boy began to sprint through the flames, and didn't look back. The fire and heat got into his face, and he couldn't see where he was going, and it was too hot to feel around with his hands, or he would get burned worse than he estimated he already was. All of a sudden, there was a terrifying crash, and a bookcase had fallen on top of him, causing pain beyond his imagination. Panicked, he tried to escape, but felt his limbs growing weak. In vain, he tried calling out to his master, but found he could not even breath in the smoke. Despite the unbearable pain and heat, he felt a strange coldness in his chest, an almost soothing sensation, and then nothingness.

He awoke under warm blankets, covered in bandages, with a slightly sweet scent in the clean air he now breathed. There was a faint golden glow to his surroundings, and he could hear a fire crackling nearby, with what sounded like rustling papers and a deep voice humming some unrecognizeable tune. He moaned softly, trying to move, but finding he could not lift his limbs. The humming and rustling stopped as footsteps came in his direction, and his gaze travelled to see a fairly middle-aged man with blonde hair and a well-trimmed mustache and beard approaching him; his eyes were an eerie shade of orange, and he couldn't take his own eye (for the other one was covered in bandages) off them.

"Ah, awake, I see?" he said; he had warm smile on his face and a small container of pale green liquid in his hand. "How are you feeling?"

"...decidedly ill..." the boy replied, attempting to keep a slight sense of humor with the situation.

"Well, I should say!" the man replied, chuckling a little. "You're quite severely burned, do you know what happened?"

The boy searched his memory for a brief while. All he could envision were flames, and naught else.

"A fire..." he replied. "There was a fire...that's all I remember."

"Ahh, well, I could have told you that much," the man said. "Here, drink up, this'll make you feel much better."

He poured the green liquid into the boy's mouth; it tasted vaguely sweet and cool to his lips, and he felt his body practically tingle with renewal as it slid down his throat.

"Thank you...what was that?" he asked.

"A simple potion, nothing more," the man replied. "Feel any better?"

"A little."

"That's good to hear," he said, smiling once again. He was a friendly-looking man, with an even kinder voice, and the boy felt somewhat comfortable around him. "Now, might you tell me how you came to be here? I've never seen you anywhere, my boy, and it's quite distressing to see you in this condition."

"I...don't remember," the boy replied.

"Don't remember?" the man said. He nodded in reply.

"Can't...remember anything... Just fire..."

"Perplexing...do you have a name?" the man asked. The boy searched his memory for anything resembling a name, when the fingers of his mind found one; whether it was his own or not, he couldn't remember, but it was a name nonetheless.

"Xehanort..." he replied.

"Xehanort? Is that your name?" the man asked. He nodded slightly in reply.

"Yes, I...think so..."

"Quite an exotic name," the man said, chuckling a little more. "Well, Xehanort, I'll get another potion for you, then I'll have my daughter change your bandages."

Shuffling around the room, a chest was opened, and he returned with another container of the liquid. He opened it and prepared to pour it into Xehanort's mouth, when-

"Your name..." the newly-named Xehanort said softly. "Your name...what is it?"

"My name?" said the man, and chuckled once more. "Well, I have many names! To my subjects, I am Master; to my people, I am King; to my daughter, I am Father; to my colleagues, I am Wise; my proper name is Ansem Branford the Second, but to you, well...you may simply call me Ansem."

"Ansem...thank you...for..." Xehanort began, and slipped out of consciousness once more.

He woke once again, quite a time later; the fire had been extinguished long before, and he could tell it was now morning, from the light streaming into the room. He nearly sat up to rub his head, but felt a faint touch on his arm, wrapping a bandage over the burns. He remembered what Ansem had said before he lost conciousness...was this his daughter?

"Excuse me..." he said softly, turning his head to see a young girl tending to him, with whispy blonde hair pulled back from her face, except for some bangs, and bright green eyes. Upon hearing his voice, she pulled back abruptly.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Did I wake you?" she asked.

"No, not at all..." Xehanort replied. "I woke on my own. Are you Ansem's daughter?"

She nodded. "Yes, that's my father. My name's Terra; I already know about you. Xehanort, right?"

"Yes, that's right," Xehanort replied, already familiar with his new name. "Could I sit up, please?"

"Sure, let me help you..." Terra said, rising, gently sliding her hand behind his back and propping him up in the bed against the pillow. "I wouldn't recommend moving your arms just yet, or you're in for a world of hurt. Careful, your back's got some of the worser burns on it, so try not to press against it too hard..." she warned.

He was able to see more, now; the room seemed to be a sort of study, with bookshelves lining a wall, a wooden desk with papers strewn about on it, a small chest beside it, and (as he suspected) a fireplace, with ashy remnants of a fire inside.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, sitting back down on the small stool beside his bed.

"...much better, actually," Xehanort replied. "Those potion-things seem to work pretty well."

"Well, a potion can help you feel better and take away the pain, but they can't aid very much when it comes to the actual healing process," Terra said, beginning to wrap up Xehanort's arm again. He got a look at it as she wound the bandage around; it was a sickly shade of pink, peeling everywhere. "It'll be a while before you're healed, but I'm sure your skin will be right as it was; you're lucky these burns weren't as bad as they could have been. If you don't mind me asking, what caused them?"

"The burns?" asked Xehanort, and she nodded, beginning on his hands. "To be honest...I don't remember... How did I even get here? When? Where am I, anyways?"

"Quite a lot of questions! That's pretty strange," Terra said, carefully winding the bandage over his palms, "I thought you would know at least a little. My father found you about a week ago in the streets here, and you didn't wake for three days; when you fell asleep again, you didn't wake for four. It's the fifth morning, now; we're in an extra study of his that happened to have a bed."

"Wow...I must really be tired," Xehanort said, laughing a little, and Terra joined him; she had a giggle that was delightfully bubbly and contagious.

"As I was saying," she continued, "as to _how_ you got here, to the Radiant Garden, I was sorta hoping you could tell me that; nobody knows how in the world you got here, you just sort of showed up during a storm, burned worse than a, well...you know what I mean."

"So this place is called Radiant Garden?" he asked after a short while, digesting what she had said in his mind. Terra nodded, so he continued. "As for me just showing up like that, is that really what happened?" Terra shrugged again.

"It's all I heard from father," she replied, and finished tying off the bandage. "Any way you look at it, it's just _bizarre_. Hooo! Glad I got your other arm done before you woke up!"

"Yeah, or I'd have to reach over for you to do it, wouldn't I? That would be pretty painful," Xehanort said, and Terra nodded in agreement.

"I've been burned a few times in my life on my finger or hand, it _really_ hurts; you're pretty much burned all over, but the potions are taking care of most of the pain," she said. Xehanort nodded and glanced at his bandaged torso, which he figured was as bad as his arm underneath. The mental image was slightly nauseating, so he looked at the much-nicer image of Terra's face to ease his stomach.

"I suppose so, I don't feel very much," he replied. "Those potion-things...what are they made of, anyways?"

Terra shrugged. "It's something that's always been around, the Moogles make them."

"Moogles...?" Xehanort echoed, absolutely clueless.

"These little creatures that live here; they're everywhere. Really useful little guys, and so cute!" Terra said, smiling. "They invent things and make items. Father _adores_ them, almost as much as ice cream!"

"Ansem likes ice cream?" Xehanort said, a look of childish wonder and utmost seriousness on his face. Terra began to laugh, and was clutching her sides by the time Xehanort spoke again. "Hey, what's so funny?"

"I'm sorry, that was just so random!" she giggled, slightly collecting herself. "You sounded so serious!"

"I still don't see what's funny," Xehanort said, his face absent of a smile. Terra slowly regained her composure and smiled at him.

"You're an interesting person, Xehanort," she grinned. "All that over ice cream? Well, to answer your question, my father _loves_ ice cream, especially sea salt-flavored."

"Eww...but wouldn't that taste disgusting?" Xehanort said, wrinkling his nose, causing the burned flesh beneath to sting a little uncomfortably. Terra shrugged.

"I tried one once; it's an interesting taste, to say the least, like...sprinkling salt on a watery fruit, or popcorn with sugar and salt in it," she explained, glancing at the ceiling when she was trying to come up with food-related metaphors. "I'm not too fond of it, myself."

"Ahh, well that sounds interesting, at least," Xehanort said, and glanced curiously in her direction. "What sorts of foods do _you _like, anyways?"

Terra giggled a little at Xehanort's somewhat unrelated question; his utter sincerity in everything was really quite endearing.

"Me? Oh, I like strawberry-flavored ice cream, and these really light pastries that Mrs. Gainsborough makes all the time, they're delicious!" she said, smiling as she imagined the subtle flavor of the cake in her mouth, which practically melted as soon as she put her lips on it.

"Who's that? Somebody who lives here?" Xehanort asked. Terra nodded.

"She's the nicest person, really, and so sweet! She runs a bakery, and she has a daughter that's soooo cute, you wouldn't believe it! You should meet her sometime, when you're well enough. I'm sure she'd adore you!" Terra said enthusiastically, for she was a good friend of the Gainsboroughs and often spent her mornings in the bakery.

"I'd like that," Xehanort said, and smiled a little. Terra smiled widely in return, then opened her eyes and glanced curiously at him.

"What sorts of foods do _you_ like, Xehanort?" she asked, somewhat imitating the way Xehanort had asked her the same thing. He didn't seem to notice.

"Oh, I suppose that I like...hot dogs," he said, a far-off look collecting in his exposed amber eye. Terra was silent for a while, blinking a few times.

"...what's a hot dog?" she finally asked, becoming somewhat panicked as she realized what it might mean. "You eat dogs? Like, _real_ dogs? HOT AND COOKED ON A SKEWER?"

"A hot dog? No, no, it's not even related to dogs!" Xehanort said with a slight laugh of surprise, and knit his eyebrows in thought for a moment. "It's like a sausage, but it's made of just one type of meat (_not_ dog meat, you know) and you put it in a long bun and eat it with catsup or mustard."

"A sausage in a bun? Mm, that sounds pretty yummy..." she said thoughtfully. "Wonder if I could make one?"

"Suppose you could," Xehanort replied. "Maybe we could try, later on."

She gave a sunny smile. "Yeah, that would be pretty nice."

The two of them were silent for a while, their minds pleasantly empty for a few brief moments.

"Well, I suppose I should be going in a bit; I finished changing your bandages," Terra announced, getting up and needlessly brushing off her skirt. "Someone will be coming by with breakfast if you'd like; I suppose you'd actually like to eat something substantial, you've been going on potions for the past week, and that can't be good for the stomach."

"That would be wonderful, thank you," Xehanort said. "If you don't mind, would you bring it by? I'd like to talk with you some more."

"I don't see why not," Terra smiled. "All right, then, I'll bring you some breakfast. And, how about this, a book too?"

"Sure! I'd love to do some reading," Xehanort said sunnily, positively overjoyed at the thought.

Terra winked at him and half-flipped her yellow hair around.

"Then it's a deal, I'll be back later!" she announced, and left Xehanort in the study, until she returned, as she promised, a short while later, a tray of food in her hands and a book under her arm.

They spent the afternoon chatting and eating, and she read aloud to him from the book on Moogles for him, which he listened to intently (as his arms were still quite sensitive to movement and it was somewhat impractical to hold a book); she found his face holding the same expression it wore when he asked about the ice cream, which was really quite adorable, she thought, all this studiousness over a small book about Moogles. She mused to herself as she read if he would have the same reaction with a children's book, and giggled at the thought (interrupting a passage of reading, much to his discontent; she began again immediately, after a small fit of giggles.) Once they were finished, there was another satisfying silence made only more delicious by the golden afternoon sun streaming through the window.

"Say, Xehanort?" she asked after a while, breaking the silence.

"Mm?" he replied.

"You don't know how you got here, right? Or what happened before that?" she said.

"Nope, not a clue. It's really strange, I wish I knew why..."

"Uh-huh...so, you know where you came from?"

"Can't say that I do."

"Well, that's quite a shame," Ansem's voice said, as the man who owned it came into the room. "I was wondering where you were, Terra. Enjoying your time?"

"Yes, father, I'm having a lot of fun," she replied with a smile.

"She read to me, it was very kind of her," Xehanort added.

"Is that so?" Ansem said, chuckling warmly. "Kind of you indeed, Terra."

"Thanks, father," she replied, blushing slightly.

"How are you, Xehanort? It's comforting to see you awake and so cheery-eyed," he said, bending down to eye level with the boy.

"Very well, sir, I'm feeling much better," he replied cheerfully. Ansem laughed a little.

"Sir...my goodness, no need to be so formal, my boy," he said. "Use my name, as anyone else would; it's quite all right."

"I sort of owe you, si-, I mean, Ansem," he said, trying not to say the word in question. "Terra told me that you were the one to find me."

"And so I did," Ansem replied. "You owe me nothing, Xehanort; your health is my primary concern."

"Thank you," Xehanort said gratefully.

"I'll be coming by later this evening; I must be off to attend to my apprentices," he said, exiting the room. "If there's anything you need, don't be afraid to ask."

"Oh, say hello to Elaeus and Dilan for me, father!" Terra said happily, and Ansem waved a hand in recognition as he disappeared and closed the door behind him.

"Who are they? Apprentices?" Xehanort asked. "What does that mean?"

"Father's a great scientist; Elaeus and Dilan are apprentices of his, they learn from him and help around in his experiments. They're around our age, I suppose...assuming you're 14, like me," she explained.

"15, I think; that's pretty close, though," Xehanort said, but his tone stated it was beside the point. He leaned forward slightly. "What sorts of things does your father do?"

"_Everything,_" Terra said, in a hushed whisper of admiration for your father, leaning in as well. "He can do just about _anything_; he's the reason that Radiant Garden is so, well, _radiant_! When you're well enough to walk, I'll show you!"

A smile slowly spread over Xehanort's face, and his uncovered eye shone with excitement.

"When I'm well...I'd like to be your father's apprentice, too," he said resolutely.

"Well, I don't see why not," Terra said with a smile. "I think that sounds like a great idea; you really like sciences and things?"

Xehanort did not reply, the thought of being an apprentice to a powerful man like Ansem causing him to go momentarily mute with excitement; even though he couldn't quite explain why, such a thought seemed like the most wonderful thing in the entire world.

--

Author's Notes -

Creepy and important things are happening at the beginning of this chapter. ;)

Here are some game-related notes, for your convenience:

- Terra Branford is originally from Final Fantasy 6, much like Setzer was; Yoshitaka Amano originally designed her with blonde hair, but she was given green in the game. I think blonde suits her more, so that's what I chose (I also think that's what they used in the PS1 remakes.) Later on, I may link to a picture of her that I drew.

- Cookies to you if you know who Mrs. Gainsborough's daughter is (I'm sure I'll have to make a lot for all of you...); she'll feature in the future, along with some other somewhat-familiar Final Fantasy and Disney figures. :)

Next Chapter  
- Wild is the Wind


	3. Wild is the Wind

**Chapter Two**

Wild is the Wind

_In Which a Breeze, a Pebble, and Their Shadow Meet the Traveller_

--

Following their first real encounter, Terra often woke up early in the days following Xehanort's awakening to change his bandages in the morning, while he was still sleeping, so he wasn't terribly bothered by the discomfort; she'd occasionally try a Cure spell when he was awake to numb the pain, which worked in varying degrees of success. She'd then bring him some breakfast and wake him up (if he wasn't already), and then perhaps tell him what was going on in the town and read to him from an interesting book from either her own or her father's collection.

Thankfully, he was healing quickly, due to the ointments her father said to apply to his damaged skin that he had helped create with the Moogles and one of his older apprentices, Even. Every day, she saw more of his real skin color when she replaced the bandages on his limbs and torso; a rich, exotic brown color, like coffee mixed with cream, which she had only seen patches of on his mostly-unburned feet. The healthy skin slowly appeared and spread like water on a napkin, almost. As for his hair, much of it was still burned away (even his eyebrows, which she teased him about sometimes), leaving his scalp peeled and bald, but she was sure that the mystery of what color it was would be resolved once the skin had healed with the rest. At the moment, she thought it perhaps was black, or maybe blonde, like her father's.

There wasn't a day that she imagined what would cause such horrible burns on him, much less how he could survive such a horrible ordeal. It was pretty certain, at least to her, that had her father not found him, he would have certainly died. She thought of that fateful night as she tended to him one particular morning; she had been horrified, at first, at the charred, pathetic, red-and-brown creature in her father's arms, and avoided being around the study where he was being kept as much as possible, out of irrational fear. As the days went on, her father's medicines began their work; she found herself sneaking into the study and looking at him out of curiousity, the bandages making him look decidedly less frightening. Ansem had caught her there not long before the boy had woken up, and she agreed to help with the bandages starting the following day; he woke for the first time later that evening. After that day, she changed his bandages and fed him a potion twice a day, to aid with the healing. Honestly, she was relieved when he woke up and was able to have conversations; it was rather boring just watching a sleeping boy, even though she would entertain herself by imagining what his unscarred face would resemble, in her mind. It often see-sawed between hideous deformity, to ethereal beauty, and left her wondering even more about the day when she removed the bandages on his face, and nothing but pure skin lay beneath. Would the face match his exotic name, or would it match the utter strangeness of it?

About five days following his awakening, Terra had left him to nap in the afternoon sun, while she went to the Gainsborough Bakery to get some pastries for lunch. He had really been enjoying her visits in the morning and evening, and Ansem occasionally came by to take some time out of his research and listen along with them and share some conversation. They were kind people, and intelligent ones, at that, but he really appreciated the knowledge that they brought the most. Everything in this new place, this new world, was unfamiliar, and each new fact and experience entered his brain like a sip of cool, refreshing water. He liked learning things, a fact that Terra observed in the joyful look on his face whenever she told him something he hadn't heard before; she figured it out fairly quickly, and thought to bring history or science-related books for him, but they were boring, so she decided not to. A much more logical option, she reasoned, was to wait until he was well enough to hold a book on his own. Then, well, he could study his little heart out, if he wanted to (she hadn't much doubt in her mind that he would.)

But regarding the people he had met so far, it had been somewhat sparing; he only spoke with Ansem and Terra, and heard about people named Gainsborough, Strife, and Highwind through her, but he wished to actually meet them. Terra promised to bring him out as soon as he was healed enough, but he craved visitors as much as he wanted to be able to read a book on his own. He also wondered that if Ansem had a daughter, then he must also have a wife, but he hadn't heard anything about her. He asked Terra, but she simply ignored him and stated it was none of his business to know, and that was that. She said it with a venomous tinge in her voice, and Xehanort decided he wasn't to bother her about it; from her avoidance of the subject, the way she stated it, and the absence of the person herself, he came to believe later on that she was dead. All the more reason not to delve, he thought.

Thoughts like these bounced around in his head, on that warm day, where he lay on the bed by himself, somewhat hungry and rather bored.

In an instant, the afternoon became much more interesting.

He heard the door creak open and glanced to see if it was Terra with lunch, but found there was nobody there. Somewhat disappointed, he averted his gaze to the ceiling again to daydream, but a slight, barely noticeable sound near the door brought his attention back to the entrance.

"Who's there?" he asked, looking at the door again, but not seeing anything. There was no reply, but he continued. "Who's there? Terra, is that you?"

More silence. Somewhat annoyedly, he wrinkled his non-existant eyebrows and spoke again. "Who's there? This isn't very funny!"

After yet another period of quiet, when there was a crash as two boys around his own age came tumbling from behind the door. One of them was skinny, like he had been stretched out by pulling on his head and feet very slowly over a long period of time like taffy, with reddish-brown hair and thick, rather oafish eyebrows. In contrast, the other was somewhat overweight, with a face that hinted at a square chin and black locks, and was currently sitting upon the other.

"Oww! Elaeus, way to go and ruin it!" he complained, trying to free himself. "Gerroff me, you oaf!"

"Sorry..." the other boy said solemnly, collecting himself and backing towards the open door.

"Who are you two?" Xehanort asked. "Are you...wait, are you Elaeus and Dilan?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" the redhead asked, brushing himself off and attempting to look much less ruffled than he was.

"You called the other one Elaeus, right?" Xehanort said, and the boy in question nodded. "Terra told me that there were two apprentices, Elaeus and Dilan, and they were around the same age as me. You both work for Ansem, right?"

"That's right," Elaeus said, smiling a little; his voice was deep for someone his age.

"Miss Terra told you 'bout us?" Dilan said, and Xehanort nodded slightly, somewhat suprised that he called her "miss."

"A few times, I guessed it was you. So you're Dilan?" he asked.

"Yep, m'name's Dilan," he said, shrugging his shoulders a little and trying to look nonchalant, "an' this lump here behind me's Elaeus."

"Hi," Elaeus said shyly, waving his hand.

"Nice to meet you, both," Xehanort said pleasantly. "Umm, if you don't mind me asking, who's that behind the door?"

"Wha-? You noticed him?" Dilan said, somewhat surprised.

"Ahh, so I'm not just seeing things," Xehanort said, a somewhat crafty tone in his voice. "Who is it?"

"Haha, looks like you caught me!" a somewhat drawling young voice said, and a face popped into the doorway, a pair of brown leather goggles poking out of of the puff of blonde hair growing out of his head. "Name's Cid, Cid Highwind! Nice t'meetcha!"

"You too! I think I heard about your father, actually, through Terra!" said Xehanort, somewhat happy to recognize a name. "Richard?"

"You mean Dick?" Dilan said, somewhat laughing.

"Miss Terra's been talkin' to you 'bout my old man, eh?" Cid said, laughing a little bit, while entering a little more. "What's she said?"

"Umm...she's just mentioned him a few times, is all," said Xehanort a bit sheepishly. "You...okay with that?"

"Okay with it?" Cid said, and laughed a hearty laugh. "You kiddin'? I'm fine with it! My pop's not the nicest guy out there, but what the heck? Taught me everythin' I know!"

"Sure did," Elaeus stated, smiling a little.

"Dude, what're you doin'? Get back on guard duty!" Dilan snapped, seeming to notice something.

"Ah! Right!" Cid said, and ducked outside the door again.

"Guard duty?" Xehanort said curiously.

"Miss Terra didn't want us to visit," Elaeus explained. "She said we should give you some quiet."

"To hell with that!" Dilan said, crossing his arms. "You're okay with us being here...right?"

There was a silence as Dilan cast a fiery gaze towards him, and Xehanort replied.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine!" he said quickly, even though he meant what he said. "I actually wanted to have some visitors; I'm not really in the shape to go out and see everyone, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I can see that," Dilan said. "Status, Cid?"

"All clear so far!" Cid replied from the hallway.

"Terra's not too fond of me, y'see," Xaldin explained, "but I work for Master Ansem, so at least I'm cool with him. And heck, at least it's Terra that's mad at me. You should see how Master Ansem treats Locke!"

Cid laughed in the hallway, while Xehanort adjusted his head a little. "Who's that?" he asked.

"Friend of Miss Terra's," Elaeus explained. "They've been friends for a long time, but Master Ansem doesn't like him very much."

"Why is that?" Xehanort asked.

"He has a habit of borrowing things and not returning them," he replied.

"Not returning them? He steals 'em!" Cid's voice said from outside. "The guy's a freaking klepto!"

"I...see..." Xehanort said slowly. "Is he a good person, though? What's he like?"

"He's pretty cool," Dilan said, placing his hands behind his head. "Don't trust him with money, though."

"That's for sure," Cid agreed.

"Ahh, then perhaps I should meet him sometime," Xehanort said cheerily.

"No doubt Miss Terra's gonna introduce you," Dilan said matter-of-factly. "She's already told him practically everything about you."

"Us as well, that's why we came up to visit. We're awful curious about you," Elaeus said, approaching him. "Miss Terra likes talking about you, she thinks you're really something."

If Xehanort could blush, he would. Unfortunately, bandages covered his cheeks, which were too scarred at the moment to show anything anyways.

"Oh, she does?" he said, somewhat shyly.

"Yeah, the cat's meow, or the Moogle's mog, or whatever," Dilan said, and laughed. "Talks all the time about that weird look in your eye whenever she tells you stuff...how does she do it, Elaeus?"

"I think kinda like this," Elaeus said, and leaned forward with his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open a little in demonstration.

"Nooo, nonono, it's not like _that_," Cid said, who had peered in to see what was going on. "It's more like _this._"

His eyes even wider than Elaeus, his mouth made a slight "o" shape, while he dug his hands in his pockets and leaned forward, balancing on his heels. Dilan burst into laughter, while Elaeus chuckled a little and glanced at Xehanort to see if he was laughing too. Xehanort let a few laughs slip, a slight smile on his face.

"Hehe, he likes it, he likes it!" Dilan said, noticing Xehanort's expression. "The guy can take a joke, all right!"

"Ahem...just _who_ are you talking about?"

Terra stood in the doorway behind Cid, a paper bag in her arms and a rageful look on her face.

"Uh-oh..." Elaeus said sheepishly. "We're in trouble."

"Well, I'll _say!_" Terra said, putting the bag on the desk and marching past Cid to Dilan. "What are you doing in here? I thought I told you to leave him alone!"

"Terra, I-" Xehanort began, in protest, but she didn't notice as Dilan began to argue with her.

"We wanted to pay the poor sap a visit!" he said. "The dude hasn't had anyone to talk to at all! Come on, give him a break!"

"He needs the quiet!" Terra retorted, screaming in his face.

"Umm, I don't really think-" Xehanort said, but was interrupted again.

"If I say he needs quiet, he does!" Terra said, practically shouting in Dilan's face. "For your information, Xehanort's got burns on most of his body! It takes quiet to stay out of pain that long!"

"Terra, I don't think-" said Xehanort, but Dilan retorted.

"He doesn't care, do you, Xehanort?" he said.

"Don't go asking him! You barely know him!" Terra replied.

"Actually, we've been talking with him the past few minutes..." Elaeus said quietly.

"He's right, y'know!" Cid added.

"Stay out of this, you two!" Terra snapped, and they were silent. "Why in the world do you want to see him anyways?"

"For your information, Princess, we were curious!" Dilan replied, "an' we thought he needed some male companionship! Anything _wrong_ with that?"

"Male companionship...?" Xehanort echoed, but was ignored yet again.

"Oh, _honestly!_" Terra said annoyedly. "Male companionship? You've got to be kidding me!"

"If I might say something, I really don't care either way if-" Xehanort began.

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" Dilan and Terra shouted at him, and continued to bicker together.

"Oh my," Elaeus said. "Looks like this has gotten ugly..."

"It was ugly the moment Miss Terra came up here," Cid noted. "Sorry fer all this, Xehanort."

"It's okay," Xehanort said, as Terra lobbed an insult about Dilan's eyebrows at him, for the argument had gone from Xehanort and his right to silence to physical traits.

"You guys should listen to yourselves, you sound like children," a small, unfamiliar voice from the doorway said. Immediately, everyone looked and saw a small boy standing there of about 9 or 10 years old, with unkempt black hair and unassuming, yet jaded, violet eyes.

"IENZO!" everyone, sans Xehanort, complained.

"Hey, who are you to talk? You're only 9!" Dilan retorted rather loudly. "Just what are you doing here, kid? I thought I told you to leave us alone! Haven't I told you enough?"

"I wanted to see Xehanort, too," he said plainly, "an' for your information, I'm gonna be 10 in the winter."

"Ienzo, I told you not to come up here...I told _everyone_," Terra sighed, walking up to him and leaning forward a little to be at a closer level with his short stature. "I figured at least _you'd_ be able to follow directions."

"I know, but I heard that Elaeus and the others were going, so I followed 'em up here," he replied.

"Ienzo, you know we don't really don't like that," Elaeus said gently.

"I know," Ienzo replied, "but I was gonna keep an eye on you guys so you didn't do anything mean or something."

"Riiight," Dilan said. "Goody two-shoes..."

"Does it hurt much?" Ienzo asked Xehanort unexpectedly, leaning past Terra's body after giving a quick glare in Dilan's direction. "The burns, I mean."

"Huh?" said Xehanort, somewhat surprised. "No, not really. Terra gets me potions, they help a lot."

"Ah...I was gonna ask about that," Dilan said thoughtfully. "Heard that you're burnt worse than a...a..."

He stopped and thought for a moment, unable to come up with a suitable analogy.

"Whatever it was," he said, dropping the word, "it sounded like it would hurt really bad."

"The ointment's helping, isn't it?" Ienzo said, striding past the rest of the teens in the room and standing at Xehanort's bedside. "The stuff being put on the bandages?"

"I suppose," Xehanort replied.

"I was there when they made it, Master Ansem and Even," he said, tilting his head a little, like a kitten might do when a shiny bauble is dangled in front of it. "It was blue, and it glowed, when they put it through the synthesis machine..."

"Ienzo!" Terra said, interrupting him by grabbing his arm and lifting him off the floor a little. "You've been in the lab again, haven't you?"

"Nobody notices I'm there..." he said, glaring at the floor a little dejectedly. "I don't tamper with anything while I'm there, either! I just watch!"

"You know my father says you can't be in there; not until you're 13, Ienzo!" she said, sounding almost like a big sister or a mother. "It's for your safety, you know that!"

"I know! But that's a long way off..." Ienzo said. There was a long period of silence, before Terra realized that Dilan and the others were trying to sneak out of the room, unnoticed.

"Hey! Get back here, get back!" she shouted, letting go of Ienzo, who stood as before. Amid the scuffling behind as Terra and Dilan began fighting again, he spoke to Xehanort.

"You like seeing how things work, don't you? Learning things?" he said softly. "When I told you about the ointment, you got that look on your face like Miss Terra says you do. Are you gonna be Master Ansem's apprentice?"

Xehanort slightly tilted his head to look at the small boy, whose eyes defied his age. What was he getting at?

"I suppose I am," he replied, the most logical thing in his mind to do. "At least, I hope to."

"If you do..." he began, and Xehanort's breath hung in his chest; what was this kid going to say?"

"...could you please, please, pleaaaase synthesize me something? Pleaaase?" he said, the serious look on his face melting into a picture of pathetic beggery. "Just a bracelet or a charm or sooomething! Even and Braig won't do anyyything for me, and the others aren't good enough to make stuff just yet! So pleease?"

Xehanort burst out laughing as Terra returned, dragging Cid and Dilan by their ears into the room, Elaeus meekly lumbering behind.

"What's so funny?" Dilan and Terra said at the same time.

"Ienzo, you're a silly kid," he said, smiling. "Sure, I'll see what I can do."

Ienzo grinned. "Kay! Thanks a bunch! See you later, Xehanort!" he said, and began hopping out of the study.

"Wait! Why don't we all have lunch together? I'd like some proper company," he said cheerily. "Anyone up to getting some more food?"

"I'll get some stuff from my mom," Elaeus said, grinning. "Be right back!"

"Hoo-doggies! That sounds like fun!" Cid said, slapping his knee and laughing merrily, as Ienzo ran out behind Elaeus. "Y'sure you're all right with this? I mean, Miss Terra said-"

"I don't care, really!" Xehanort laughed. "Sit me up, please, Terra! I'm in the mood for some jokes and good company!"

And so, they shared the afternoon, eating some of Elaeus's mother's delicious cooking and Mrs. Gainsborough's excellent pastries for dessert, their conversations peppered with minor spats between Terra and Dilan, and Xehanort having the grandest time of all.

--

So we have some new characters from Kingdom Hearts introduced, at last! Do you know who they are? ;)  
Was synthesized items all that Ienzo had on his mind? Or was it something more sinister, like Xehanort had thought?

More notes for you all. :  
- Richard Highwind is originally from an earlier Final Fantasy...do you know which one:) There are definately more cameos to be found in later chapters, so look forward to them!

Next  
- Chilly, Cream, and Children


	4. Rivers and Children

**Chapter Three**

Rivers and Children

_In Which Xehanort Experiences the Outside World_

_And Meets a Good Many People_

--

"Keep your eyes closed! I'm almost finished!"

"Okay, okay! Just stop tugging so hard, Terra!"

It was almost noon, and Terra sat next to Xehanort's bed, removing the bandages on his face; she had already finished with his upper arms and back, and all that remained was his head.

It was the day that Ansem declared Xehanort fully healed, and Terra announced that she was taking him to lunch with the apprentices once he got some clothes on. Xehanort was absolutely impatient with excitement, and when Terra entered his room in the morning with a fresh pair of pants and a shirt for him to wear, he began to laugh and clap his hands in glee at finally being able to wear proper clothes, which made her begin to laugh as well.

The past week had been rather nice; Cid, Elaeus, Dilan, and occasionally Ienzo visited frequently, often bringing Elaeus' mother's wonderful cooking with them to share for lunch or dinner, and Xehanort much enjoyed the food and the company, but he still looked forward to whenever Terra read to him. Even though his arms had finished healing long before, and he was capable of reading by himself, he really liked listening to her recite the words in her airy voice. He had been making a lot of progress with his healing, and had even gotten out of the bed several times to walk around in his bandages and blanket, which worried Terra at first, then merely embarrassed her (for he wasn't wearing a thing, besides a pair of short trousers, since the bandages were slowly becoming more and more sparce.)

"There! Open your eyes, I'll go get a mirror!" Terra said happily, shuffling away. Xehanort took a moment to observe the newly-healed skin on his chest and arms, and felt his face; it was smooth, hardly hinting at the burns that had so badly singed it in the very close past. His hands wandered to his scalp, which was covered with a fine fuzz of regrowth; he wondered what color it was. He hadn't seen a proper reflection of himself in such a long time that he was somewhat unaware of his current facial features, even the color of his hair; he wouldn't know what color his eyes were, either, but Terra was helpful enough to inform him of such a thing.

"Back!" Terra said, entering the room and clutching the mirror. "Here, take a look! I think you look great!"

She held up the mirror for him to see, and an oval-shaped face stared back, with dark skin and amber eyes, a pale-silver fuzz growing where his eyebrows and hairline should be.

"Oh!" he said, in spite of himself. "Is that what I really look like?"

Terra began to giggle, before snatching the mirror from him and throwing his new clothes in his face.

"I trust you know how to put this on by yourself?" she teased. "I'll be waiting outside the door."

With a slight smile, Xehanort put the shirt and pants on and joined Terra in the hallway, where she began to lead him through the castle. They talked with each other on the way out, and she taunted him gently about his hair (or lack thereof.)

"I thought it was going to be black or something," she said fondly, feeling the fuzzy top of his scalp, and he pulled away with a laugh. "Somehow, though, I'm not too surprised."

"Mm...I just want eyebrows again," Xehanort laughed.

"You know, I think long hair would suit you, Xehanort," Terra said, turning around a corner with him and beginning down a flight of stairs, "like my father, maybe? Your face looks like it would look nice with it."

"You think so?" he said, as they exited the stairway and into a large hall. "Mm, we'll just have to wait until it grows a little more! If it doesn't, I can always cut it."

The two of them laughed and left the castle through the large wooden doors, and strolled among the beautiful plantlife of the front court in the warm sunlight. A small series of pebble-bottomed canals ran through the walkways of the garden, with bridges over them, and Terra directed that he follow her.

"The canals run all throughout the castle and town," she explained. "If you ever got lost, in the future, just follow them back to the castle; it's easy."

"Ah, simple enough," Xehanort replied, and found himself gazing into the water more than his surroundings as he walked along. Small fish and strange little creatures swam in it among the various water plants and odd large stone; strange green things that weren't quite fish, with leathery flaps and brown shells that seemed vaguely familiar.

"What are those in the water?" he asked.

"Oh! Those are the baby turtles, they like to swim in the smaller canals near the castle," she said, stopping for a moment to bend by the water's edge and dip her finger in. A few of the turtles congregated around it and swam about in a merry way, and Xehanort laughed.

"Turtles?" he said. "Ahh...that word sounds familiar."

"Mm, maybe where you're from, there's turtles, too," she said, not looking at him. Xehanort nodded.

"Are they all that small?" he asked. "I wouldn't think they were..."

"Of course not!" Terra said, standing up again. "You should see the grown ones in the river! They're _enormous_! You can practically ride on them!"

"No kidding!" Xehanort exclaimed. "I can't wait to see!"

Terra smiled and laughed; his face held a trace of his "I love to learn" expression.

"We'll be there soon!" she said, and began on her way again. "Come on, or we'll never make it there in time for lunch!"

They exited the palace gates together and made their way through a small garden that led to a bridge, and Xehanort took a moment to observe the beautiful woven fence around them, of which the foliage wound about.

"By the way, where are we going for lunch? That bakery?" he asked her, taking a moment to bring some conversation to the silence.

Terra shook her head. "There's a really good bistro that we're meeting everyone at; pastries are for breakfast, unless you're having bread, like a sandwich. Though, maybe we could get something for desert."

"That sounds like a fine idea," Xehanort smiled. "How much longer?"

"Not much longer, we'll reach the bridge soon enough; look over there," Terra smiled, pointing in that direction. "Do you see it?"

As they neared the large, goldenrod-colored bridge, linking castle with city, Xehanort's eyes were met with a veritable oasis of a place.

The city consisted of dusky golden buildings with lavender-red roofs, canals flowing throughout and tumbling over themselves in a soft murmur, feeding numerous gardens and countless trees, so seamlessly incorporated with the architecture, it appeared as if the buildings had slowly grown alongside the plantlife.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Terra noted, who had stopped when Xehanort stood with his jaw slightly open.

"It's marvelous," he said softly.

"Well, it's even more beautiful up-close! Come on!" she urged, grabbing his hand and briskly beginning on their way again.

"Hey, slow down!" Xehanort called, but Terra giggled merrily and went even faster, practically dragging him along behind her as they went through the streets.

"We'll get there faster, just go with it!" she laughed, and it wasn't much longer when they reached a small square, centering around a rather large fountain. People walked around, going about their lives with smiles and laughter in their conversations, and the smell of flowers wafted in the air.

"What a beautiful place," Xehanort said, marveling at the building and gorgeous layout of the place. "Was it always like this?"

"Since before I was born, yes. But always? Not really," Terra said. "My father's responsible for much of this; originally, this place was just normal land, but my father had a vision. A paradise, utopia, a world of eternal spring."

"And he did all this?" Xehanort said.

"Not without help, of course! But he did design almost everything here, personally, with every citizen," she said. "Every store and home in perfect co-existance, it's remarkable. And my mother..."

She stopped slowly and peered at her feet.

"My mother, well..."

"What about your mother?" Xehanort asked, suddenly worried by her behavior.

"...she's the one that is responsible for all these beautiful flowers," she said softly, looking up with a smile. "She tended to them all, personally, so that none of them would ever wither. On the night that she died, the canals just showed up the next morning, so they would never have to be tended to again. It's almost like she wanted for them to always be cared-for."

"Ahh..." Xehanort replied, somewhat taken aback by this sad report. "When did she-"

"I was five," Terra interrupted, in reply. "She just got sick one day, and didn't get better. Every day, her hands grew colder, and she said less and less, until she didn't talk at all. Father and all his assistants...they tried everything they could, but..."

She glanced somewhat annoyedly in Xehanort's direction.

"Well, it's none of your business," she said nastily. "Why did I go blab off about Mother, anyways? It must be the flowers."

Taking a deep breath, she began to march off. Surprised and perplexed, Xehanort followed behind.

"Wait! What was that all about?" he asked, catching up with her.

"If we don't hurry, we'll be late for lunch, that's what!" she replied, her tone noticeably cheerier. "Come on, slowpoke, let's go!"

Xehanort reluctantly went along with her urgings, although the sadness in her face upon mentioning her mother was downright haunting to him, and he was lost in his own thoughts until Terra's voice brought him to the bistro where they were to eat lunch.

"Xehanort! Over here!" she called. "Hey, everyone!"

Elaeus and Dilan sat at a narrow table within the cafe's gates with Ienzo, Cid standing nearby, leaning against the wall of the establishment.

"Hi, Miss Terra," Elaeus said, although he was interrupted rather rudely mid-sentence by Dilan.

"What took you guys so long?" he said annoyedly.

"I was-" Terra began, but Xehanort cut her off, a somewhat surprising fact.

"She was helping take off my bandages, if you didn't notice," he said pleasantly. "You can see my face now, see?"

"Ah...not quite sure I noticed that at first," Dilan said sheepishly, for he had completely overlooked the fact.

"It's an improvement," Ienzo stated, with a small laugh. "But, where are your eyebrows?"

"Er..." Xehanort mumbled, unable to come up with a suitable answer, causing laughs around the table.

"Well, y'were burned all over, werntcha?" Cid said, thinking things over a bit. "That got rid of all your hair, right?"

"Yeah, that's right," Xehanort replied. "So, I suppose that's where my eyebrows are, Ienzo."

"I knew that, stupid," Ienzo said teasingly. "It's called a joke?"

"Bratty kid," Dilan sniffed, crossing his arms and scowling. "Remind me again why we're letting you have lunch with us? Don't you have friends your _own_ age to bother?"

"Idiot, I can't stand any of the other kids," the child replied, and puffed a rogue bang out of his face. "You guys are the only ones worth talkin' to about anythin'. Besides..."

He gave a saucy glance in Dilan's direction.

"...Elaeus said I could," he stated.

"Since when was Elaeus the boss of anything?" Dilan said, glaring at the gentle boy, who was trying his hardest not to get involved.

"I'm sorry, Dilan, but I don't think he's that intrusive," he said softly. Dilan cast an annoyed glare in his direction, while Xehanort and Terra just watched in mild interest.

"Well!" Terra finally said, changing the subject. "Is anyone else joining us this afternoon?"

"Even and Braig said they were gonna try and show up after they completed an experiment," Dilan reported, scratching the back of his head and stretching his shoulders a little. "As for the ladies, well...they weren't so interested, although they want to meet Xehanort; 'suppose they might show up at some point. The adults are all too busy to even show, I suppose."

"What about Locke? Have you seen him today?" Terra asked, joining them at the table.

"He said he was gonna meet us here," Dilan replied.

"Ah, that's good, then," said Terra.

"Just curious, does Ansem have female apprentices?" Xehanort asked, taking a seat himself.

"Yes, two," Elaeus explained. "Miss Edea and Miss Quistis, they're older than us and both very smart."

"So I see! I hope I can meet them soon," Xehanort smiled.

"Oh, I bet you will," said Elaeus.

"Cid's got a thing for Edea," Dilan snickered.

"Eh?" Xehanort said, at this somewhat random comment.

"It's not just a 'thing'!" Cid replied, almost unnaturally angry. "I love her!"

"Wow, unusual that you'd be so open about it," Xehanort observed; only a few moments before, however, he thought the "thing" that Cid had for Edea was a gift of some sort.

"Not really," Terra replied. "Cid's liked her since you were little, haven't you?"

Cid nodded and chuckled. "Long as I can remember! She sure loves playin' hard-to-get!"

"Does she like you too?" Xehanort said.

"I bet she does," said Cid, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall, a wistful look in his eye. "She's just stubborn, is all."

"Sounds more like she doesn't like you, if you don't mind me saying," Xehanort said.

Cid looked at him, a somewhat unreadable expression on his face.

"Heh, you'll just have to see her," he said after a bit, donning a smirk and leaning confidently against the wall. "Edea Kramer, you're gonna be mine, someday."

"I can hear you, you know," a smooth female voice said from nearby in reply, causing Cid to fall over.

Two women in their late teens had entered the bistro; one was a blonde with glasses, wearing a vest and skirt in varying shades of pink over her blouse, the other in somber black and purple, her coal-colored hair pulled into a sleek bun at the nape of her neck.

"Speak of the devil," Dilan laughed, and Elaeus joined them. Ienzo sighed in mild annoyance and sunk further into his chair; the strange relationships of teenagers were mind-numbingly dull to his 9-year-old mind.

"Hello Edea, Quistis," Terra said pleasantly. "How are you?"

"Well enough, heard you're having some sort of get-together," the blonde replied. "Is that Xehanort boy with you? I want to see him."

"I'm Xehanort," the boy in question said. "And you are?"

"Quistis Trepe, it's nice to finally see you," the woman said, adjusting her glasses a little, smiling ever so slightly. "I see you're well? Have you finished healing?"

"Yes," Xehanort replied. "Now all I have to do is grow my hair back!"

He began to laugh, and Quistis chuckled a little with him.

"And I'm guessing you're Edea?" Xehanort asked the other woman, and she nodded.

"Yes, and I suppose your impression of me is that I'm cold and stubborn, isn't that right?" she said, her acid-green eyes unfazed and penetrating.

"Er...I didn't say anything like that..." Xehanort said sheepishly.

"Edea, don't be so mean," Terra said disapprovingly. "You just met the poor guy, give him some slack."

"I'm sorry," Edea said, smiling; it suited her face, which had been a picture of solemnity beforehand. "It's nice to finally meet you. I hope Cid hasn't been boring you with his useless chatter."

"Um, not really," Xehanort replied.

"Where are the others?" Dilan asked her, changing the subject.

"On their way, from what I heard," Quistis reported. "Even was getting uppity over something, I should go see what it is and work with him on it in the afternoon."

"That sounds like a good idea," noted Elaeus. "It seemed something had him annoyed today."

"Even's always annoyed by something," Edea replied casually. "It's practically chronic."

Terra and the rest of the apprentices laughed, although Xehanort and Ienzo refrained; Xehanort had no idea what they were talking about, while Ienzo simply had no interest in the subject.

"Anyways, Cid, stop with that act of yours, it's really quite pathetic. Just because there's people around doesn't mean you should make a complete fool of yourself," Edea said unexpectedly, looking in Cid's direction; he had regained his footing and was trying to look as unruffled as possible. "Don't get your hopes up, silly fool. You're not winning any points with me with that strange act of yours, or whatever it is."

"Just you wait; you're gonna be mine," Cid replied, looking into the distance, attempting to mimic a heroic persona. "The day'll come when I'll come up to you and-"

"Not until you're at least 18," Edea interrupted, turning to leave. "At least, then, it would be moral. Hmph, let's go, Quistis; I've got some reading to do."

"Goodbye, then! It was nice to see you all," Quistis said cheerfully, waving and strolling in the opposite direction of Edea as both of them exited the gate. She seemed to spot something down the road as she went along.

"Suppose that's me cue," Cid said jovially, hopping to a more vertical position and adjusting his goggles for a more debonaire look. "Catch you later, guys?"

"You're not eating with us?" Xehanort said.

"Already ate," Cid replied. "Bye!"

Waves of farewell were exchanged and Cid went on his way, when a voice was heard down the road.

"Even and Braig are on their way, by the way! I think I can see them!" Quistis announced from further off, her voice fading with distance.

Shortly after, the two men in question appeared. Both of them had black hair; one well-kept and in a short ponytail, the other somewhat greasy and long, hanging raggedly to frame a shrewd, obviously annoyed face. Judging from his sour expression, Xehanort assumed the grease-haired one was Even. He was proven correct not long after, when Terra began to speak.

"Even, might you share with us what's bothering you?" she asked, her face a picture of geniune concern.

"Children," was Even's reply, as he hastily took a seat at the table.

"Children?" came the multitude of echoes.

"Annoying. Pestering. Noisy. Children," he said tersely, each word sounding like a separate statement, brimming with resentment.

"Braig, translation?" Dilan asked.

"Even's had some miniature followers today," Braig, the other man, responded, with a slight chuckle.

"This is no laughing manner!" Even snapped, his shoulders rising to around his earlobes and his hair sliding into his face; he wove his fingers together on the table and held them about his mouth. "Those buggering kids are going to be the death of me, I swear!"

"Even, loosen up a bit!" Braig said merrily, slapping Even on the back as he sat next to him, which prompted a very venomous glare.  
"Hello, what's this?"

Braig's gaze came to rest on Xehanort, who was sitting with his hands politely on his lap, quietly observing things. His light brown eyes sparkled with curiousity as he looked the boy over.

"Well, it's nice to see the man behind the legend, finally!" he said cheerfully, grinning; his cheekbones were very well-defined. "Guess I should introduce myself more formally, eh? The name's Braig, 'sa pleasure t'meetya."

"You as well," Xehanort replied. "And you, I suppose, are Even?"

"How do you do," Even said monotonously, his olive-green eyes concentrated deeply on the wood of the table.

"Umm, well enough, thank you," said Xehanort. "Terra, if you don't mind me asking, aren't we here for lunch? We should order soon."

"Ah! That's right! I should flag down the waiter..." said Terra, looking around for someone to help serve.

"What should I get?" Ienzo asked Elaeus, leaning over as the boy opened a menu found on the table.

"Well, what do you feel like, Ienzo?" he replied, smiling a little. "I think the onion soup would taste good. I'll share it with you, if you'd like."

Ienzo wrinkled his nose a little as he thought of the option, while Braig began conversation.

"The mysterious castaway, eh?" he said to Xehanort, "or whatever it is they're calling you. Heard you got amnesia."

"So it seems," Xehanort replied. "It's..."

"Bothersome, I bet," Even interrupted, not moving the spot from which his eyes were fixed. "Perhaps it's because of your heart."

Braig sighed. "Even, don't go off about work at lunch, I'm hungry and not in the mood for thinking..." he whined. Even blew a strand of hair out of his eyes, and Terra successfully managed to get the waiter to the table.

After several minutes of debate, the orders were placed, and conversation resumed.

"Heard you want to be an apprentice," Braig said, propping his head up with his hand on the table.

"Yes! As soon as possible!" Xehanort said enthusiastically. "Where should I go to ask? When can I begin? Should I ask Ansem?"

"Woah, slow down, there!" Braig said. "Live wire, ain'tcha?"

"You haven't seen the beginning of it," Dilan added, glancing in Braig's direction. "Wait until he gets to the library; he'll go insane, I swear."

"Dilan..." Terra said disapprovingly.

"Oh, I'm really looking forward to that," Xehanort said, as if oblivious. "Lots of books, I bet?"

"You can't possibly imagine," Even stated, again without emotion.

"I suppose I could ask Master Ansem about you joining," said Braig, clearing his throat and attempting to return the conversation to a more linear nature. "He _has_ told me that Terra says you enjoy learning, that's a good start."

Xehanort nodded enthusiastically, and Dilan sniggered a little.

"I suppose he'll get you started on cleaning up the lab, right, Even?" he asked.

"It's how those two dunderheads began; how they became apprentices is beyond me," Even replied, and proceeded to fold his arms on the table and lay his head on them.

"Hey!" Dilan protested, but Even was too tired to care (although he wouldn't have, anyways). Elaeus glanced in their direction for a moment, but went back to playing a small game of rock-paper-scissors he was having with Ienzo.

"Here's your food, sorry for the wait!" the waiter said, coming by with the plates of meal.

"Finally! About time!" Dilan protested, and the waiter smiled nervously. Even raised his head and sniffed at the plain fish sandwich he had ordered, while Braig began to heartily slice into his roast beef sandwich.

"Thanks," Terra said, and the waiter exited with a slight bow in their direction. About to begin on her soup, a large bag of something small and crunchy was dropped in the center of the table, rather abruptly.

"Can't have lunch without dessert, am I right?" a friendly voice from above stated, and all eyes rolled in its direction (save Even's, which were preoccupied with his sandwich). A crafty-looking boy with dirty blonde hair covered hastily by a dark grey cap, clad in a white shirt and dark vest was hanging over the fence of the bistro. Instantly, Terra's face lit up.

"Locke! So you made it!" she said, delightedly. "What took you?"

"Had to pick _that_ up," he replied, pointing to the bag on the table and leaping over the fence.

"You stole it," Even stated, glancing in his direction with a sour expression.

"Er, no, I-" Locke began, but stopped and rubbed the back of his head. "Damn, you got me."

"Locke! You didn't take this from the Kisaragi shop, did you?" Terra said, sighing somewhat and examining the contents of the bag; small, individually-wrapped sticky-sweets were within, in various flavors.

"Umm...I helped out in the shop, and I took it as payment!" he retorted, attempting to defend himself. "I didn't steal it."

"Stuff it," Dilan said. "Locke, we know you better than that, y'idjit."

Defeated, Locke sat down at the table.

"Didn't bother to order me anything?" he complained, leaning back in his seat and gazing hungrily at the various meals.

"I'm sorry, Locke, but you were too late," Elaeus said. "Maybe someone can share with you?"

"I'm not giving you _any_," Dilan said indignantly, shielding his pasta from Locke's eyes.

"You could have some of my soup, I don't really mind," offered Xehanort, stirring the green mixture around with his spoon. Locke stared at him for a good long while, his eyebrows dancing up and down in suspicion.

"And you are...?" he finally said.

"Locke! This is Xehanort!" Terra said, pointing at him with her fork.

"Ooh! Xehanort, Mr. Crispy!" Locke said, a grin on his lips. Braig nearly sent his milk flying through his nostrils, laughing. Even continued on with his sandwich.

"Mr. Crispy?" Xehanort said, confusedly.

"Locke!" Terra laughed, attempting to sound stern.

"What! You were burnt to a crisp, 'swhat I heard," Locke explained. "So, you're Crispy! It makes sense."

Xehanort began to chuckle. "I don't believe anyone's ever called me that," he said, dipping his spoon in and out of his soup. "Sounds pretty funny."

Locke nodded in agreement. "You really don't mind if I have some of that?" he asked, gesturing towards Xehanort's bowl. Xehanort pushed it in his direction with a smile.

"I'm not that hungry, go ahead and finish it," he said.

"Xehanort, you hardly ate any," Terra said, somewhat concernedly.

"It's okay, I'm really not that hungry," he said reassuringly. "Locke should have it."

With a grin, Locke began to hungrily eat the soup, and Terra rolled her eyes, although she was smiling.

"Can we still have the candy?" Ienzo inquired, eyeing the bag.

"Well..." Terra said, thinking. "We should return it..."

"Aww, come on!" Dilan and Braig protested.

"It's fair game! Let's eat it!" Dilan continued.

"You may _not!_" Terra retorted, snatching away the candy. "I'll be returning this."

"No fair!" came the popular reply.

"Miss Terra, _I_ could bring back the candy for you!" a small, young voice rang from beneath the table. Instantly, Even cringed, and judging from Braig's complaints, he had lifted his feet rather abruptly to his chair.

Crawling out from under the table came a very small girl and boy, perhaps no older than 3 or 4 years old; the girl in a pink dress, her brown hair done up in a matching ribbon; the boy was blonde, and in his eyes was a look one would find in a frightened animal in a cage, and he was holding the girl's hand very tightly.

"You two!" Even said disgustedly. "Can't you leave a man in peace?"

"You're hardly a man; you're only 16," Ienzo said matter-of-factly, ignoring the situation at hand.

"Sorry, Mr. Even!" the girl said, giving him a look of childish apology. "Me an' Cloud got nothin' else to do, an' my mama said I can't be in the bakery right now!"

The small boy nodded in agreement, and briefly looked at Xehanort, before turning his eyes towards the ground and holding his companion's hand even tighter.

"Now, now, you two," Terra said, smiling in spite of herself at the mischief the two children had caused. "Why were you bothering Even today?"

"We weren' botherin' him!" the girl said strongly, her hands on her hips, thrusting her stomach forward in a gesture of rebellion. "We were playin' spyaround, right, Cloud?"

The boy nodded yet again, although he was heard to say something.

"An' I...I was...lookin'...for my daddy..." he said softly.

"Oh?" Terra said, in mild surprise, and turned towards Braig. "Where is Professor Hojo?"

"Didn't see him," Braig reported. "Cloud, if you were lookin' for him, he wasn't in the lab today."

"Oh..." the small boy said, his voice fading with mild disappointment. "Then I should...jus' wait at home for him...but I don' like bein' alone in the house...cos there's monsters'n..."

"Cloud, don't be scared," the girl said comfortingly. "The scary monsters won' hurt you, I know!"

The boy, whom Xehanort now identified as Cloud, looked at the girl thankfully.

"I know," he said, and turned to face the table, sheepishly. "Sorry...Mr. Even, for botherin' you..."

Even sniffed in distaste. "Just don't bother me again, even if you are looking for your father."

Cloud nodded bashfully, and tugged the girl's hand.

"We gotta go now," she said. "'msorry!"

"It's okay, run along, now," Terra said, smiling. "I'll play with you tomorrow, if you want."

The girl grinned, showing a few gaps in her teeth.

"Okay!" she called. "G'bye!"

The two children ran off together, Cloud gripping the hand of the brown-haired girl as tightly as he could, until they were out of sight.

"It's okay for children that age just to run about, freely?" Xehanort asked after a while.

"Of course! It's perfectly safe, and practically everybody knows each other," Terra said.

"It's almost like the town is one big family," Elaeus said contentedly.

"Yes, exactly!" Terra agreed, smiling. She hardly noticed that Ienzo had snuck beneath the table and had snatched the bag of candy from her, and was now quietly bickering over it with Dilan. However, Xehanort did.

"Umm, Terra, it seems you've lost the candy," he announced, and upon discovering this, Terra and Dilan began another bout of bickering,which caused everyone at the table to enjoy some laughter by the end of the meal.

* * *

Later in the afternoon, Terra and Xehanort walked back to the castle together; she had promised to show him to the library earlier in the day, and fully intended on fufilling her word. However, when they approached the bridge over the river, she realized something and ran down the grassy sides of the bank to the shore, and Xehanort followed. 

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Here, there's someone I want you to meet," she said, kneeling at the river's edge. "Crush! Crush, you there! Come on up!"

"Crush?" Xehanort echoed. "Who's Crush?"

"A turtle," Terra replied brightly.

"A turtle? One of those big ones?" said Xehanort, and Terra nodded.

"Yes, you'll see soon," she said. "Crush!"

A large, mottled brown shell began to come their way through the clear waters, and surely, a large turtle that one could practically ride on came to shore.

"Xehanort, this is Crush," she said, gesturing towards the animal. "Crush, this is Xehanort."

"Ah, right-on," the turtle said, and Xehanort nearly fell over in astonishment.

"Did it...did it just talk?" he said, completely blown away.

"Chyeah," the turtle replied. "Lotsa animals talk, you just gotta know how to know, you know?"

"Indeed..." Xehanort said, mildly confused.

"Crush is one of the oldest turtles of the castle," Terra explained. "Ever since my father was a boy, and before that, even."

"Wooow...do turtles live long?" Xehanort asked.

"Wouldn't you know it!" Crush said, a pleased expression on his reptillian face. "So, word 'round the canals is that you want to be one of the apprentices."

"Yeah! How'd you know?" said Xehanort.

"When it comes to water, word travels faster than you would believe, man," Crush said. "Good luck to you on that. You're a special one, I think."

"You really think so, Crush?" Terra asked, and the turtle nodded serenely.

"On my honor," he replied. "Known a lotta people destined for awesome things. I got this feelin', y'know?"

Xehanort flushed in humility.

"Just wanted you two to meet," Terra said brightly, filling the silence. "Xehanort, on to the library?"

"Oh! Yes!" Xehanort said. "Crush, it was a pleasure meeting you."

"You as well, dude," the turtle replied. "Peace out!"

The two youths walked up the hill together, and Crush watched them leave, his head bobbing against the gentle waves of the river.

"Floating through time, through the worlds...hearts like that don't show up every day," he said to himself, nodding slightly. "Let's just see where this ends up..."

Dipping beneath the waves, the wise old turtle returned to his natural realm, to drift and dream as he loved to do.

--

Wow, this is the longest chapter I've ever written...wow!

More are introduced! Catch any interesting cameos?

Cloud has two very significant brown-haired women in his life...which one is it? Tifa or Aerith?  
That's up for you to decide. And why so shy?

Oh, the title of the previous chapter is different than what I posted last chapter. XD These are tenative names, like in Dragonball...oh, nevermind.

Next  
- Trials


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